Come What May
by sevil825
Summary: A girl gets the turtles tangled in an adventure. And a romance.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Okay, this is my first TMNT fanfic. (Technically second, but the first I'll post.) Hate it if you want, but if you like it, you had better tell me or I will delete it. I only keep writing stories if people like it. If you tell me I messed something up, and if it is fixable without destroying my storyline, I will gladly change it. I would like this to be as accurate as possible!

Warnings: This first chapter will start out rather poorly. Sorry. I wasn't sure exactly how to start it; my ideas for the story kind of jumped to the middle and had just a little bit of beginning. I'm also warning you that there is a slightly creepy, rather gross part. Or at least, it's that way to me. Italics mean either TV or other announcements(in quotations) or thoughts.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Turtles, or anything related to them. Or any other stuff you recognize. Only the things you've never seen or hear of belong to me. Like the new character. No more disclaimers, yay!

Randomlass, Madame-Cazone, tell me what you think!

TTTTTTTT

"Hey, guys!" April and Casey entered the lair, April carrying a stack of pizza boxes for dinner, Casey carrying a round canister on his back. Mikey came running over, jumping up and down as he grabbed the pizza and ran to the table as the other three entered the main room. Don had some oil on his forearms from his latest experiment, and Leo and Raph looked tired from training. It was good to see it was just another day in the lair. Master Splinter entered the room slowly. "Oh, I've got a gift for you, guys. Mostly for Splinter." April took the canister from Casey, handing it to Splinter. "It's from a neighbor." He pulled out a Japanese wall scroll with the words "Family, Honor, Courage" in calligraphy.

"Tell your neighbor we thank her." Splinter slid it back into the container and set it gently on the counter behind them. "Will you join us tonight?" April nodded and sat down, watching with amusement at the different styles the turtles used to eat. Mikey practically inhaled his pizza, Leo was more civilized, Don picked at it for a second before eating it, and Raph and Casey acted like it was some enemy. Splinter waited to eat, watching April. "Who is this neighbor?"

"She's new. I helped her move in a few days ago. She's really nice. She was getting rid of lots of things." Splinter looked back at it. "I guess it was her parents, and she didn't want it anymore. They died recently, that was why she had moved."

"Wait, whose parents died?" Mikey asked through a mouthful of pizza. Don lightly smacked him in the arm for not paying attention.

Splinter rolled his eyes before turning to April. "Tell her we are sorry for her loss." Dinner was suddenly interrupted by an announcement from the TV that Mikey had left on.

"_We are sorry for the interruption, but we have disturbing news. Yet another young person has gone missing. This time, it was 12 year old Jennifer Smith. She was last seen on the way home from Spirelli Pizza, wearing a pair of faded jeans, a red t-shirt, and a brown jacket. She in 5'7" and has blond hair and blue eyes. If you have seen her, please contact the police. We will now return you to your regularly scheduled programming. Thank you." _The announcement had been made while the girls' picture was on screen, giving the audience plenty of time tosee her.

"Geesh, that's the tenth kid this month." Casey rolled his eyes and returned to his pizza.

"Yeah, they are getting more frequent. You guys don't think it could be the Purple Dragons or something, do you?" All April got as a response was some grunts from a few of the turtles. Splinter was deep in thought. April sighed and started to eat her pizza. _Yep, it's just another day in the lair._

MMMMMMMM

It had been two weeks since the announcement of Jennifer Smith's kidnapping. She had been found, along with five other kids who had disappeared, in the basement of a hardware store. After that small recovery, the search had intensified to find the other missing persons. Nobody was having any luck finding them. Splinter even had the turtles trying to find them, but they couldn't either.

The turtles were taking the day off, and April and Casey hanging out with them, when another announcement was made. Raph was about to change the channel because these announcements were getting boring, even the announcers seemed bored to keep saying the same thing, but April grabbed the remote from him, staring at the TV intently.

"_We are sorry for the interruption. Another young person has gone missing. A 17 year old girl, black hair, brown eyes, named Artemis Hawkins. She was taken from right outside her own home. She had been wearing a black hooded sweater, white tank top, and black running pants. This makes the forty-seventh young person to be kidnapped since February. The only link between the kidnapped is their age- all the kidnapped have been teenagers. We will now return you to your regular programming. Thank you."_

"What's wrong, April?" Don leaned over, resting a hand on her arm as she handed the remote back, still staring blankly at the screen.

"That's my neighbor. The one who I got the scroll from. She's been taken. I…" April leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. _I can't believe it. Artemis was always so careful._ Leo stood up, followed by the others.

"Don't worry, April, we're going to find them. …We'll find her." Leo placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. _We should be patrolling and looking for the kids, anyway. _They started out, and Splinter sat down by April, resting a hand on her shoulder where Leo had.

April propped her head up with her hand, thinking back over her brief time with the girl. Artemis had no family, and no friends that April knew of. She was sort of a loner, but April had managed to get her out of her shell. They had ended up hanging out quite a few times, watching chick flicks and eating ice cream, among other girly things. They hadn't had much time together, but they had still become friends.

NNNNNNNN

Three months, ninety-three missing teenagers. It was now a few days until May, and none of the kids, besides the five with Jennifer Smith, had been found. April was worried about Artemis, and Casey and the turtles were doing all they could to help.

It seemed like they would never be found. Until one night. The turtles were taking a short break, watching from a roof when the cops got a call. _"All units. Report to the old Blue Rose warehouse. Medical units are already on their way." _The cops in the car were apparently lazy, and called dispatch to ask what it was. Raph and Leo were ready to go, and were trying to drag Donnie away, but he remained to hear the response from the dispatch. He had the feeling that it was important. _"The missing persons have been found. Now get there, Parker! It's serious!"_ That got the cops moving, eventually. Donnie quickly went to get April, to let her know. The guys followed him, all of them wanted to let her know the good news.

The turtles, Casey, and April got to the warehouse at the same time as the cop car they had heard the message from. Donnie glared at them slightly from the shadows. The cops should have gotten there faster. He shook it off and followed his brothers. They snuck in through the back shadows, hiding behind some boxes. Raph was the first to look past the boxes, immediately looking at the ground behind the boxes for some reason. The whole room smelled strongly of metal and some sort of plant, a nut maybe. April was behind them, and all of them turned quickly, holding her back so she couldn't see the rest of the warehouse.

April made sure to keep her voice down so the cops wouldn't find them. "Guys, move. I want to find Artemis." She tried to push her way past, but Leo grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her away. She caught a glance at Mikey, who looked like he was going to be sick, and even Don and Raph were finding it hard to look. Leo pushed April into the arms of Casey, who gripped her tight, staring at the ground.

The sounds of cops and paramedics could be heard coming from the rest of the room. Most of the voices were low, and as some of them came closer, it sounded like they were writing too. Some came right in front of the boxes the turtles were behind. Leo made sure the turtles were quiet. "This is awful. What are you guys going to tell the public?" "Most of the truth, what we'll be able to say on TV. The building will be destroyed as is and it'll probably be made into a memorial. C'mon, we've got to check over by the ladder." The turtles all immediately turned to April, who was sitting silently. She pushed past them before they could stop her, peeking over the boxes. She immediately felt sick, and pushed herself away. All of the teens were there, all right.

The mangled and chopped bodies of the missing teens were lying in a four inch thick pool of their still wet blood. Some hung by shackles and chains from the ceiling, held up by their arms. There were one or two who had makeshift bandages tied around wounds, and quite a few had torn clothing. Splashes of blood coated most of the walls. Many of them were tied up, and more restraint devices lying in the blood as well, proof that the kids had tried to fight back, and obviously lost.

April swallowed the bile that was rising in her throat, glancing at the ground behind the boxes. Thankfully, it was free of blood. The boxes must have kept it away. She turned to the others.

"We didn't want you to see." Leo moved forward, preparing to gently touch her arm to comfort her. His movement was stopped by the sounds of car doors shutting. The paramedics and cops were leaving. "We should go too." He got up and turned to go.

"No. I'm not leaving without Artemis." April was standing too, and staring at the floor. She turned and climbed over the boxes, shuddering visibly as her feet splashed in the blood. "She shouldn't have to be buried under a building. None of them should, but we can't take them all." She clenched her fists and started very slowly walking forward.

The turtles and Casey looked at each other for a bit. "April, wait! We'll help." Casey hopped over the boxes first. The turtles followed, grimacing as their feet squished into the blood. The fact that it was still slightly warm didn't help. They slowly made their way to April and Casey, none daring to look down. Every single one looked upset to be there. Except for Raph, who was trying hard to keep his tough image, the turtles were all pale, shaking, and looked like they were about to be sick.

Don took a shuddering breath. This was disgusting and looked like the work of someone even more evil than the Shredder, but April wanted to find her friend. "Now, we're going to need a distinguishing feature."

April gave him a small smile. "Thanks, guys. Um, …her hair is down to the tops of her thighs." They had sometimes done each other's hair. April had taught Artemis how to french braid. The memory brought a few tears to her eyes, but she brushed them away. The others nodded and spread out to look.

Mikey picked a space that was mostly guys, and was glad. He checked the girls quickly for the right length hair, then pretended to keep looking, staring at the area with his eyes closed. He was glad he hadn't eaten anything yet, or he'd probably be seeing it again. The metallic smell of the blood hit his nostrils, causing him to shudder violently. He wanted out of here. Soon.

Raph was checking the space he had wandered toward, glad that it was higher, so the blood was thinner there. Too much blood outside the body was not good. He forced himself to keep a straight face; he had to be the tough guy. The one who wasn't bothered by blood. The one who could supposedly handle a scene like this. He really wasn't that kind of guy. Inwardly, he was just as freaked out by this as his brothers. He wanted to leave and never look back.

Casey and April were looking together, since April didn't want to be looking alone. Casey was doing most of the looking anyway, so that April didn't have to look as much. She was crying, not wanting to have to be doing this. She wanted to be sitting at home, watching Princess Bride with Artemis, eating five different tubs of ice cream, quoting lines, and swooning over Westley. But they couldn't, because Artemis wasn't home. She was here, in a room with other dead kids, soaked in blood. April kept the bile down, but not the fresh wave of tears.

Leo was trying to keep himself together as he looked over the twisted remains of some kids. This was wrong. The kidnappers had no reason to kill all the kids the way they had. Of course, they had no reason to kidnap the kids, but had done it anyway. Leo stiffened suddenly as a thought crossed his mind. Why hadn't the kidnappers been found, just the 'warehouse of horror'? It didn't make sense. This didn't look like the work of the Shredder or the Purple Dragons. Who could have done it? And why? Why just teens, and why so many? And why keep them here? He shook his head a little, pushing the questions to the back of his mind as he started looking again.

Don was still shaking, visibly. He wasn't entirely sure he could handle this place. It was just so…wrong. He half-slipped for the fifth time, refusing to look down. He didn't want to see what he was walking in. Just the thought of what it might be caused a shiver to run up his spine. He turned to look back at the others, to see how they were doing, and bumped into something. He turned around quickly, then shuddered and turned away. It was one of the people hanging from the ceiling, a girl. He slowly turned back around to look at her, immediately noticing her hair was the right length. "April! I think I found her!" She was hanging so her waist was eye level, and she was coated in a layer of blood. Her head was rolled back, and her legs had been shackled too, and chained to the floor. _She had tried to fight back_, Don thought, the corner of his mouth twitching up, oddly proud of her for putting up a fight. Don heard the sound of splashing as the others came running over. Don's eyes instinctively followed the chain over to the release, a switch on the wall.

"Artemis?" April got there first, checking the girl quickly. Tears came to her eyes as she realized. "It's her. How do we get her down?"

"Leo, there's a switch on that wall. It should release her." Don quickly undid the foot restraints as Leo ran over there. That's when Don noticed something in the blood. He wasn't sure what it was, but he picked it up and tucked it into a canister on his belt. She started slowly lowering, and Don caught her, holding her bridal style. He was shocked by how light she felt. And by the fact that she was still rather warm…and breathing._ I felt her side move against his plastron, I'm sure of it! _"I think she's still alive! April, can you check?" He turned to April, immediately seeing the hopeful look on her face. Leo had moved close and was removing the shackles from her hands.

April moved close, checking her pulse, a huge smile coming to her face. "She is! Oh, thank goodness! She's alive!" April was still crying, but at least now it was happy tears. "We've got to get her to a hospital, fast!" She gripped Don by the arm, dragging him toward the exit, Artemis still in his arms. The others followed, all happy that they were able to leave the horrific building. April had taken herself and Casey to the warehouse in her van, and they all piled in, Don still holding Artemis. April let Casey drive, wanting to sit by Don so she could check on Artemis.

Don was holding her close so that he could still feel her breathing. It was getting shallower and he could feel her getting colder. He looked down, immediately whispering to her to stay with them and hang on, all the cliché things you tell people in moments like this. He knew Casey was going as fast as he could, and was probably breaking quite a few laws, all to help a girl none of them had ever met before. She was April's friend, and that meant she had to be saved. He thought back to the building. It was highly unlikely that any of the kids would have been alive, and it must have been a miracle that they had found her when they did. Casey shouted something about getting close to the hospital, and jerked to a stop. Don reluctantly handed the girl off to Casey, who took off toward the hospital with April.

The turtles would wait on top of the hospital, so they would not be seen, but could come in and provide support if needed. Mikey was tugging on Don's arm, so he turned away from the two receding figures and followed his brother. Raph and Leo were waiting in the alley. Leo was standing with arms crossed by a faucet. "We need to get cleaned up before we get onto the roof. We'd leave footprints that would easily be followed. Uh, you especially, Don." Don glanced down at himself. He had a thin coating of blood on his hands feet, and reaching from his chest down to his knees. He shuddered, recalling that most of it was probably Artemis'.

April and Casey burst through the doors of the hospital, running to the desk. "Help us! We've got a girl that was hurt really badly and we need help now!" Everything in the next few minutes was a blur. It was a few hours later, and April and Casey were still sitting in the waiting room. Casey was holding April's hand, and she was on the verge of crying. There were a few other people waiting too, mostly people who looked like they brought patients in as well.

A young doctor passed by, running a hand through his sandy blond hair. He glanced around at all of the people in the waiting room, all with expectant, hopeful looks on their faces. "Who here brought in the girl covered in blood?" April and Casey exchanged glances, then stood up. "Follow me, please. My name is Dr. Monroe." He led them down a long hallway to an elevator, picking up a clipboard on the way. "I need you to fill out as much of this as you can." He handed Casey the clipboard and pressed a button to the top floor. "Would you mind telling me why she was covered in blood?" He gave them a suspicious glance, and April suddenly worried that he thought they had done something to her. That'd get them in trouble. They shouldn't tell the doctor that she was one of the missing kids, or they'd have to explain how they got a hold of her. April had no idea what to do.

"Her name's Carrie. She's always getting' made fun of, on account a' the movie." Casey gave April wink when the doctor wasn't looking. She had to admit, it made the blood make sense.

The doctor nodded, leading them out of the elevator. "This is our EICU. It's for extreme cases of Intensive Care. Carrie is located at the end of the hall. Room E202. We are of the opinion that the best medicine for people is to have family and friends who love them, so this area does not have restricted visiting. You may come and go as you please. All of the machines in the room are hooked up to a central computer, located here in the nurses' office." He motioned toward a small office in the middle of the hall, where a small group of nurses were sitting. A couple of the nurses looked up as they passed, smiling. "If any of the machines deviate from the necessary norm, the central computer is notified, and the nurses come immediately. It's a wonderful system." He stopped at the end of the hall, turning to a room on the right. "Here we are. If you need food, there is a cafeteria one floor down. Any other necessities, such as blankets or anything, you can pick up from the nurses' station." He opened the door for them and motioned them in, closing it behind them and leaving.

April moved to the left side of the bed, staring intently at Artemis. This was almost as bad of a scene to walk in on as the first time they had seen her that night. Artemis had been cleaned up while they were working on her, and she was almost as pale as the sheets she was laying on. April picked up the girl's hand, noticing the bandages around both of her wrists, as well as the tubes hooked up to both. As she looked at the other things hooked to the girl, April figured with horror that none of her vital organs were operating on their own; she had a tube down her throat, feeding her air, and another tube was giving her blood. There were cords hooked up to her chest and head, checking her brainwaves and heart rate.

Casey had moved over to the large window on the right side wall, opening it and looking up. The turtles had each taken a wall, and Mikey was stationed on the wall with the window. He called his brothers and soon they were entering the room through the window. Donnie made it to the bed first, resting a hand on April's shoulder as he looked between the two girls. "Hey, April. How you holdin' up?" She gave a small smile to reassure him she was fine, turning back to Artemis. Leo came over next, standing on the other side of the bed, silent. Raph and Casey came over next, quiet and supportive while keeping up their 'tough-guy' persona. Mikey stood at the end of the bed, staring at the pale girl, slightly pale himself.

They all stayed pretty much on those same spots for an hour, waiting for someone else to say something. Raph and Casey had moved to a couple of chairs in a sitting area, waiting. Mikey hadn't moved, and was still staring at her, but he was thankfully less pale. Don hadn't moved, either, and was now kneeling down by the bed, holding April's hand and watching Artemis. Leo was the one who finally broke the silence, starting with a sad sigh. "April, I know you want to stay and watch over her, but it's late, and you should be heading home." She lifted her head, looking up at the turtle, arms crossed over his chest with a sad expression on his face. It was obvious he was trying to help.

April gave him a soft smile to show she understood, then sighed and stood up. "Alright." Don stood up after her, and the turtles all got ready to leave as well. "But I'm going to get some stuff and I'm coming back tomorrow. And then you'll have to force me out of the room." April had her arms folded defiantly over her chest.

The turtles and Casey shared glances, then they all turned back to her. Leo uncrossed his arms, nodding. "Alright. We'll come as often as possible, to keep both of you company and make sure both of you are doing fine."

"Okay. If you're going to, you might want to get some stuff yourselves. And come disguised, okay?" They nodded and smiled at her before they left. Casey wrapped an arm around April, guiding her out of the room. She glanced back over her shoulder, whispering a goodbye to Artemis.

TTTTTTTTT

AN: Well, I hope you all like it. I know the ending is abrupt, but it was getting pretty long. Sorry. I don't particularly like reading (or writing) stories where one chapter takes too long. Review, please!


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Thanks to everyone for reviewing! I'm so happy! Now, since that was what lots of you mentioned, yeah, that first chapter was kinda creepy and disturbing. I had been watching some creepy movies and stuff, and it kinda rubbed off. I'm not telling you who I'm pairing her with. I want it to be secret-ish, for now. I want you to guess. IMPORTANT: Since Larissa asked, (and some of you might have questioned it too) the cops never bothered to check to see if anybody was alive because, well, think about it- lots of blood, all the ones you checked were dead, why bother checking them all? Label them all dead and move on. (I made very lazy cops. Not that I don't like cops, but I just wanted them lazy in this. Like taking so long to get there. You might notice them being lazy later, too.) The turtles didn't bother because they were in such a hurry to get her to a hospital, and before they found her alive, they figured all of them- her included- were dead. So, that's why. Lazy cops and turtles in a hurry.

TTTTTTTTTT

It was around noon when April had finally woken up. She hadn't slept well; she was worrying about Artemis all night. April walked slowly up the stairs to Artemis' apartment. She had wanted to grab a few items to make Artemis feel more at home, and possibly help wake her up. April would try anything to wake her up. She rounded the landing, and stopped. Valerie, the landlady for Artemis' apartment, was putting a note on the door.

April hated this lady. She was stuck in some weird fashion sense, which Artemis had once described as a streetwalker who was stuck in the past. April had to agree. Valerie wore a hot pink, …well, the best term would be a miniskirt-flapper dress from the 20's, with fishnet stockings and platform stilettos. Valerie turned, her bleach-blond 80's style big hair catching some light from the window down the hall. She immediately caught sight of April. "Hey, you're May, right? Hawkins' friend? " The lady smacked her gum, tipping her head and causing her over-size earrings to sway.

"April." She continued to the door. Valerie just stood there, smacking her gum and tipping her head back and forth. "What's going on?" April nodded toward the note on the door.

"Hawkins went missin'. People who go missin' in this town never come back. I'm givin' all her junk to Goodwill. Ya want some of it?"

April glanced between the door and Valerie. Artemis wouldn't want her stuff all gone when she woke up. "Can I have all of it? You're just getting rid of it anyway. I'm going to be busy for a bit, but I can get it clear later."

Valerie shrugged. "Sure. Why not?" She pulled the note off the door and unlocked the door, tossing April the key. "Leave the key on the front desk in the mornin'. I want it cleared out by then. 'K?" Valerie turned and left, her heels clicking on the stairs.

April sighed. She really hated that lady. So did Artemis. The memory of the two of them laughing and mimicking her until two in the morning brought a smile to Aprils' face. Then she remembered why she was standing in Artemis' apartment. She glanced around. It was tiny, just one large room with doorways to a bath and a kitchen on one side. Her bed sat on the opposite wall, and one small window on the wall opposite the door revealed a lovely view of the brickwork of the next building. There were still boxes around the room, since Artemis hated unpacking. A table and two chairs sat by the window, with a bunch of stuff and a small TV piled on top.

April grabbed an empty one and stuffed some of her blankets in, heavy green wool ones Artemis had gotten from an army surplus store. A stuffed dragon had been sitting on top, and she picked it up gently, setting it beside the box. April looked around. Artemis was always listening to music. She'd probably like to hear some; it might bring her back, or at least help keep her calm. Most of it was packed in a three large boxes by the table. A boombox and a few CDs were sitting on top. April grabbed those and set them in the box as well. She glanced around the room one last time, checking for any other things Artemis might want while in the hospital. She picked up a large book off the table, setting it in the box too, set the dragon on top, and closed the box. _That should be good. Artemis won't need much and I can move the rest to my apartment later on tonight. It should be safe there until she wakes up._ April stuffed the key into her pocket, picked up the box, and left.

MMMMMMMM

_Where am I? Why can't I move? _Artemis tried desperately to move, to talk, to do something. She couldn't. It felt like she weighed a million pounds, and her whole body was wracked with pain. _What was that? Where am I?_ All around her was pitch black, and there were weird machine sounds all around her. She was scared. The last thing she remembered, she was in the warehouse with… Her terror grew as memories flooded her brain. Blood, screaming, pain. She had to get out of there, but there was no way. _April? James? Someone? Anyone! Please, help me! Help me!_ Her previously screaming thoughts dropped to a whisper. _Please. I want to go home. Someone, please, help me. _She wanted to cry, but couldn't.

She didn't know how long she was laying there in the beeping darkness, pleading for help, before she heard the murmur. A blurry voice, like when you try to talk with your teeth clenched together, came closer. Even though she couldn't hear what was being said, the voice sounded reassuring and gentle, and rather feminine. _April? _That had to be April. The murmur had the same inflections as Aprils' voice. April's voice moved away for a moment, then the soft melody of Ilona by Amethystium flowed from nearby. April's voice moved to her side, and Artemis vaguely felt April's hand holding her own, but the pain made it hard to be sure. But just having April there meant it was alright. April could always make her feel better.

NNNNNNNNNN

April sat down in the chair beside the bed, holding Artemis' hand. The boombox on the table nearby had started playing a nice, gentle song, with a few hawk cries every now and then. April glanced at the open window and sighed. It was a beautiful day. April heard footsteps in the hallway, and turned in her chair, still holding her friend's hand. It opened quietly, and April smiled, seeing the turtles enter, followed by Casey.

"How's she doin'?" Casey came over, resting a hand on Aprils' shoulder.

"She could be doing better." April tuned back to the unconscious girl as Raph and Mikey moved over to the table and chairs. Leo stood by Casey, watching the girl. Don walked to the other side, inspecting the machines while resting his hand on the guard rail. Nobody said anything for a few more minutes.

Mikey had moved to the end of the bed, leaning his elbows on the footboard. He cocked his head to one side, smiling as he looked at her. "Ya know, she's really pretty."

His brother immediately hit him, rolling his eyes. Turning to the girl, he hated to admit it, but Mikey was right. She was pretty, in an average-girl-next-door kind of way. She had a nice face, with full lips and soft features, even though right now they were a bit gaunt. Her straight hair was a lovely raven black, even if it didn't exactly look normal. Her skin showed she was full Caucasian, but her hair looked like she was Asian.

"Yeah, she is." April gently brushed some hair back. "Huh. I never noticed before, but she's got roots." April brushed her hair back again, fingering the grey roots of Artemis' hair. "They're grey." She glanced up at the others. "Is that normal?"

Don ran his fingers through her hair, examining the roots as well. "They might be from stress, from the kidnapping and everything. I can check it out later, if you want." He turned to April, who nodded. She had always figured the girl had natural black hair.

"I'm hungry." Leo turned to Mikey, giving him an exasperated look. "Well, I haven't had anything to eat today!"

April smiled. "There's a cafeteria where you can buy food one floor down."

"Sweet!" Mikey grabbed Raph by the arm, dragging him from the room.

Casey gently squeezed Aprils' shoulder, causing her to look up at him. "Have you eaten anything?" April looked down, avoiding the question. "Okay, you're coming too." He pulled her up out of her chair. "She'll be fine, we'll come back as soon as we're done, okay?" April nodded and followed him out of the room. Leo and Don looked at each other. They were kind of hungry too, and gave the girl one last glance as they filed out to eat as well.

TTTTTTTTTT

The whole group was walking down the hall to Artemis' room when they saw a nurse walking by, followed by a few others, leaving Room E202. April glanced quickly at the others, then bolted for Artemis' room. _She has to be okay. She has to be okay._ She ran in, stopping short as she saw a nurse still standing by the bed. "Is she okay?"

The nurse turned, smiling. "Yes. We were just removing the breathing tube. She's able to breathe on her own now. Congratulations." The nurse gave April a warm smile and slipped past her and the others, who had been standing in the doorway.

April sank into the chair beside the bed, gripping Artemis' hand with one hand and stroking her hair and cheek with the other. "She's okay." Casey came up behind her and gently wrapped April in a hug. The turtles all moved to the chairs by the table. They had all been worried, too.

TTTTTTTTTT

Artemis tried to swallow to get the pain out of her throat. It had been hurt by something, and she hadn't been able to do anything. She couldn't relax. She hated it here, wherever she was. _I can't move, I can't talk, I can't see anything. I have no idea where I am, and April left._ She could still hear her music. It had kept playing, helping her to try and relax. _There's fewer machine sounds. That's good. At least I can hear the music a little better._ She felt a soft hand on her cheek, and one holding hers. _That must be April._ She tried to smile, but figured it too wouldn't work.

MMMMMMM

April sighed. "Anyone have an idea where she'll stay after she gets out?" The idea had escaped April's mind until she realized Artemis would be getting out soon. _Artemis has nowhere to go. Valerie is kicking her out of her apartment. All her stuff will be… her stuff! _April had forgotten. She quickly checked her pocket for the key, then turned to the others. "I've got to go move her stuff! Her landlady is kicking her out, and I promised to remove all her stuff before morning!" April checked the clock on the wall. It was a little past five. "I've got to go." She gently squeezed Artemis' hand. "I'll be back, I promise." April pulled on her coat, turning to leave.

"We'll come help." Casey turned to the guys, who nodded agreement. The more people they had working, the faster it would go.

April smiled at them. They were always so kind. "One of you guys should stay here, to watch over her."

One of the turtles stepped closer to her. "I'll do it." April nodded and they left, leaving one turtle behind. He turned to her quietly, sitting down beside her and gently taking her hand. _She is so pretty. Why had they done this to her, to any of those kids?_ He gently stroked her cheek, immediately noticing how soft and warm it was. "Mikey's right. You are pretty." He had admitted it to himself before, but now he could say it out loud. He stayed there the whole time, watching and stroking her pretty face. April and the others wouldn't be back for a while.

NNNNNNNN

Artemis had felt April leave, and heard some voices talking around her. Another hand took her place. It felt different. _There's something strange about this hand._ She tried to place it, focusing on just that hand. It was gentle and comforting, and she could feel a little bit of warmth coming off of it. After a little while, she wanted the hand to stay on her cheek forever. It just felt so good and so comforting. But there was still something different about it. It finally occurred to her. There were only three fingers on the hand, like Nightcrawler from X-men. That was strange. She had never figured people actually could have hands like that. She still liked the hand, and whoever it was attached to.

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AN: So, tell me what you think, and more importantly, tell me who you think she'll be paired with! I want to know! Also, I recommend all of you listen to Amethystium.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Okay, so far, the votes are as follows: Leo-3, Don-2, Raph-1, Mikey-0. What kinda strikes me as odd is that everyone is disregarding the fact that Mikey was the first to call her pretty. And I never said that the one who stuck behind was necessarily the one in the romance. You never know… I'm not telling you who it is yet, I want to see if your guesses change. Mwahaha.

There is a big flashback here that I decided to keep all in one paragraph. It looked better that way. It's an important part of the story; remember that. You should be trying to remember lots of stuff going on; a lot of little things will add up to the mystery.

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April woke up to a loud crash the next morning. She stood up from her chair, throwing off her blanket and looking around. She sighed, relaxing. It was pretty obvious where the crash had come from; Mikey was lying on the floor, rubbing his head. He had been gradually leaning forward in his sleep until he fell out of his chair.

His brothers were lounging in their chairs around the table. They had all stayed overnight. Leo opened one eye to see what had happened, then set his head back down on his arms, crossed on the table. Raph was leaned back, his head tipped over the back of the chair, snoring. Don had his arms crossed over his chest, his head falling forward. Mikey got up, returning to his chair, still rubbing his head.

April turned back to her friend. Artemis seemed to be doing rather well. All the machines looked normal, but April had no way of knowing for sure. She wasn't a doctor. She sighed and sat back down in her chair beside the bed. Maybe she could get some more rest in. April relaxed, pulling her blanket over her and nodding off.

MMMMMMM

It had been a few hours, and the six conscious bodies in the hospital room were all seated near the bed, watching the TV. It was on a shelf positioned so it was easiest to see from the bed. Not much was on, so they were watching a muted soap opera and supplying the voices themselves. It was lightening the mood, as well as giving them something to do.

Mikey draped himself over Don, while making his voice go higher and girly. "Oh, Liam! You're so good to me!" Liam had just given Stacy a necklace. They both turned around quickly. Another guy had entered the room, obviously bad.

"Stacy! How could you?!" Everyone turned quickly to Leo. He had been quiet through most of the game. They had all figured he thought it was too stupid to play. He gave them a grin, motioning toward the screen. Stacy was talking again, arguing with the new guy.

They were about to start in on the scene, when they were all disturbed by the loud, fast beeping behind them. They spun around, moving their chairs away and coming close. Something was happening to Artemis. The machines were going crazy; showing that her heart and mind were racing. She was breathing fast, and her eyes were darting under her eyelids and she was flinching a little.

A young blonde nurse came rushing in, immediately checking the machines and looking her over. Everyone else in the room got scared as they saw her start to panic.

April couldn't stand it any longer. "What's going on?"

The nurse didn't even look up. "I've got no idea. I've seen this happen before, but I have no idea what is going on." Artemis started convulsing violently. The nurse stepped back, finally looking over at April. "It might have something to do with her wounds."

"What wounds?" April stared the nurse down, worry and confusion on her face.

"Um, she has wounds on her wrists and ankles, as well as what appear to be cuts on her stomach. You didn't know?" She looked back at Artemis, who was violently convulsing all over the bed and flinching. All of the turtles were watching her, worry plain on their faces.

"No." April's response was barely above a whisper. She moved over, firmly setting her hand on Artemis' hand, gripping it tight. "Is there anything we can do?"

"I don't think so. The other time I saw this happen, the person went back to normal soon enough. We just have to wait it out. I'm sorry." She silently slipped out of the room, deciding to watch the monitors instead of the girl. She didn't like watching the actual pain. It scared her.

A pain-wracked, stressful half hour later, Artemis finally began calming down, ending up lying at odd angles from the convulsions, trembling and flinching. April finally relaxed. She had been trying to keep a hold of Artemis' hand the whole time, sitting stiffly in her chair.

Mikey had moved back to his chair by the table, trying to not look at the girl who was in obvious pain. Every now and then, she would hit the side rail or headboard, and he would look up quickly, worry showing on his face.

Don had taken a spot next to his brother, watching both of the girls from a distance. Neither one was looking too good. April seemed more upset than would be normal over Artemis. Her stress levels must be through the roof.

Leo was standing by the bed, watching Artemis with a serious look on his face. She didn't deserve this. Who could have done it, and why? Every time she had convulsed a bit too violently, he had to look away, closing his eyes.

Raph was leaning on the wall at the end of Artemis' bed, watching her intently. Every so often, he made a move as if to come over, his face becoming concerned for a moment, but he always leaned back onto the wall again, restoring his uncaring mask. Every so often, he'd shake his head and look down for a moment.

Now that she was calming down, all four moved closer to the bed, glancing quickly at April, then Artemis. Her vitals were returning to normal as well, but her trembling body and the fear and hurt on her face made them still concerned.

NNNNNNNNN

_Oh, please, no!_ Artemis could see HIM as clearly as when it happened. His piercing eyes, his menacing walk and sinister laugh, that look that just said you-are-nothing-I-am-everything, and especially his complete control over his followers. HE could get them to do anything with just a snap of his fingers. _Just like that night. We were almost free, too. Then Bobby made the foolish mistake to stand up. …NO! _The images came flooding back to her, invading her mind and forcing her to relive that horrific night.

Flashback They were close by a door leading outside, they could easily get out and get help. She turned from her kneeling position. She had been picking the locks of the shackles. She had only seen it in movies, so it took forever to get the hang of it, but now she was getting them off much faster. Bobby was free of his shackles; she could tell right away that he should have been the last to be set free. He was being much too eager and was starting to fidget. Then he did what she had told them exactly not to do. He stood up. _No!_ He was spotted by a teen wearing just a pair of jeans and a puka-shell necklace sitting on a box. Without any hesitation, the teen leveled a gun on Bobby and blew his brains out. Then signaled the alarm that they were getting free. Other teens piled in, grabbing the escapees roughly and hauling them to other shackles, far from each other. Then HE came, chuckling. "Hold on a moment. You do not need to restrain them. It is time." That haunting, terrifying smile crossed his face, his eyes narrowing. The teens all started grinning evilly. Then it happened. They started the massacre. HE remained calm, cool, and collected as blood sprayed everywhere, that horrifying smile still on his face. HE calmly walked over to the remnants of the escaping group. "Who was the one who was freeing them?" One of the killing teens paused, blood covering his chest, and motioned to her. HE stepped closer, staring at her. Without glancing up, HE snapped his fingers and one of the teens came over and bowed. "Chain her up." He did, making sure she was unable to move, held up by chains and kept immovable by more shackles on her ankles. She tried not to grimace as she felt the metal dig into her skin. She had to watch in horror as the other kidnapped kids were killed, some of them brutally chopped up. HE came over, grabbing her by the chin and forcing her to look him in the eyes. "You are a very foolish girl." She did the only thing that came to her mind; she spit on him. He wasn't expecting it, and it made him very mad. _Good. Evil jerk._ She was only half expecting what happened next. HE pulled a sword from his trench coat, pointing it at her and smiling evilly. Now she was scared. He stepped closer, and sliced her stomach in one smooth motion. She had screamed, and he just kept coming. She stopped counting at ten, and tried to ignore the feel of her warm blood trickling down to her ankles. Her vision had started to blur, and she took one last look around the room. The teens were dropping something all over as HE stood there in the middle of the room, saying something. She saw the blood all over and the bodies, and started to cry. Her vision started blurring further as she heard the sirens. She heard the sound of splashing as they all ran away, then nothing but the pain, which eventually faded away as well. She remembered feeling something else, but it was harder to remember. End Flashback

As she remembered, her body relived all the pain from that night. _How long ago has it been? A day? A month? _She had no way of knowing. _I wonder if it will ever go away. …Oh, Bobby! Why? _Her mind relived it again, pain and a multitude of emotions coursing through her. _Please, no! I can't take it anymore!_ She felt the sharp blade side into her again, her warm blood slithering down her freezing cold legs. _Please, stop! Someone, help me! Please! I'm …I'm dying. She _knew she was; there was no point in denying it.

_I've got to get a hold of myself. I can't be dead. April's here. I've got to- Oh, please, no!_ She felt the blade repeatedly slice her stomach as HE only seemed to get happier. _NO! … I've got to get a hold of myself. Relax. Calm down. It's over. HE can't get you anymore. _It took forever, but she managed to control her memories. She calmed down, only then feeling April's hand on her own. _April. I'm safe now. I wonder where the Nightcrawler guy went…I miss him._

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She had calmed down, but her body was still trembling and it was still scary to look at. April tried to restore her normal body position, but as soon as she touched Artemis' ankles to put her legs back, she jerked wildly. All the turtles jumped at her sudden movement. Her hand jerked to one side, hitting the handrail and finding a hand. She gripped it tightly, immediately noticing the three fingers. The hand's owner was shocked for a moment, turning to his brothers. They all gave him little smiles, and he gripped her hand in response, trying to avoid looking at his brothers. He wasn't usually the sweet one.

MMMMMMM

AN: Okay, that's it for now. The flashback is what caused her to go into convulsions, so you know. Now don't ask. Please. And don't yell at me about 'that's not medically possible' or anything relating to the medical parts of this story. Just smile and nod and go along with it. I'm not a vet yet, and (thankfully) I've never had to know the medical reasons for convulsions or anything like what happened in this story. So I don't really know too many medical things for this.

In summary: **Please don't tell me medical things I got wrong, don't ask why she went into convulsions. I just told you in the AN directly above this. Now, review and tell me who you think it is. Even if your guess didn't change! I love hearing from you!**


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